Li Jinyu was delighted to see Li Xiang arrive with a bag of chestnuts to borrow the national flag, saying he wanted to celebrate the motherland's birthday. She immediately took out the flag, carefully handed it to Li Xiang, and repeatedly reminded him to take good care of it and not let it get torn.
On October 2nd, early in the morning, Li Xiang took the playful and adorable Little Sister Cai'Er up the mountain!
They didn't go to the mountain behind his house. Although there was a mountain there, it was covered in trees and bamboo, overgrown with weeds, and its summit had no flat ground for filming. They went to the one at the front, near the village entrance.
At the summit of that mountain was a small Mountain God Temple. Although it didn't receive many worshippers, offerings had never ceased, so the area was rather well-kept, with stone steps leading all the way up.
As they walked through the village, they ran into a plump auntie who asked, "Well now, where are you two youngsters off to, all dressed up so early in the morning?"
Jiang Cai'Er smiled and answered sweetly, "Auntie, we're going to the Mountain God Temple at the summit to watch the sunrise. We're also going to film a video with the flag to celebrate our country's birthday!"
"You youngsters are so thoughtful, with all your little ceremonies. Make sure to show us when you're done filming."
Li Xiang laughed. "I'll post it on my Douyin account. You should all give me a follow. When I make it big, I'll sell products for everyone."
The village didn't have much else, but it had plenty of agricultural products, like dried bamboo shoots, mushrooms, mung beans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.
"Which account? Here, let me follow you." The auntie's interest was immediately piqued. She set down her laundry basket, pulled her phone from her pocket, and they followed each other.
Jiang Cai'Er was quite envious, mainly because she didn't have a phone. Since she was still in high school, her father had said she needed to prioritize her studies; he'd buy her a new one once she got into college. When she wanted to use a phone, she could only borrow her dad's during school breaks.
'Otherwise, she definitely would have started her own account to keep pace with Li Xiang. They would follow each other and advance hand in hand.'
Along the way, they ran into several other villagers who were up early to work. Everyone teased them and asked where they were off to.
"They make a pretty good-looking couple," someone joked.
"Yeah, are they secretly dating? Cai'Er is so pretty. If she gets knocked up, her father will be furious. That girl just doesn't know any better."
When they were little, no one said a word when Li Xiang held Jiang Cai'Er's hand and ran all over the village. They were just kids back then. But now that they were grown up, being seen together all the time would inevitably attract some gossip.
Even though they weren't holding hands right now.
And Li Xiang didn't dare to.
Once they were out of the village and climbing the mountain, Li Xiang thought for a moment before saying, "Cai'Er, maybe we should keep a bit of distance between us from now on."
"What's wrong?" Jiang Cai'Er's radiant smile vanished. She grew anxious, her face falling as she frowned. "Why would you suddenly say that? Brother Xiang, do you hate me now? Did I do something wrong?"
'That can't be right,' she thought. 'Weren't we getting along just fine before?'
Li Xiang gave a wry smile. "Didn't you hear Third Aunt muttering just now? She said we were dating."
He couldn't bring himself to repeat the cruder part about her "getting knocked up."
Jiang Cai'Er shook her head. "I didn't hear that!"
Li Xiang froze for a second, then realized what had happened. They had already walked some distance away when Third Aunt said that, and her voice had been quiet, so Jiang Cai'Er hadn't heard.
He had only caught it because he had reached the level of a Tier One Extraordinary, making his hearing far sharper than a normal person's.
"Brother, why do you care what other people think? People can say whatever they want. Anyway, I've been following you around since we were little, and now that you're back in the village, of course I'm going to stick with you!" Jiang Cai'Er walked over angrily and grabbed Li Xiang's hand.
"Whoa, whoa, let go! Please, you're killing me." Li Xiang was frantic. There was no one else on the mountain at the moment, but you never knew when someone might show up.
"Nope, I won't! Hee hee!" Jiang Cai'Er giggled, amused. The more anxious he got, the wider she smiled.
"Seriously, gossip is a dangerous thing! I'm doing this for your own good!"
"I know, I know, 'I'm doing this for your own good'!" Jiang Cai'Er mimicked, but she finally let go. She was starting to feel a little embarrassed herself.
After all, they were both grown up now. It wasn't like when they were kids.
"We should hurry to the summit, or we'll miss the sunrise!" Li Xiang said, quickly changing the subject to break the awkward silence.
"Then let's race! See who gets there first!"
"Haha, I'll definitely be the one to get there first."
"We'll see about that. I'm pretty nimble, you know..." With a sly smile, Jiang Cai'Er darted forward, getting a head start. In the blink of an eye, she was several steps ahead, leaving behind a faint, fresh fragrance and the sound of silvery laughter.
Li Xiang chuckled and bounded after her.
Having lived two lives, he wasn't some clueless guy who just had to beat her. Instead, he purposely stayed two or three steps behind her. As they climbed, he even pretended to be struggling to keep up. "Little Sister Cai'Er, I'm right behind you..."
"Little Sister Cai'Er, you're so fast, like a little rabbit! I'm so tired I can barely breathe." Li Xiang feigned exhaustion, bending over and panting heavily. Just as Jiang Cai'Er was about to stop and wait for him...
...it turned out Li Xiang was faking it. In a single motion, he tried to rush past her.
"Hey, you cheated! No honor!" Jiang Cai'Er laughed, immediately picking up her pace and leaving Li Xiang behind again.
"Hmph, just you watch! I'm going to pass you now..." Li Xiang called out "threateningly" from behind her.
Chasing and teasing each other the whole way, they reached the summit in under twenty minutes. It was clear their physical fitness was excellent. Li Xiang, of course, wasn't even flushed or out of breath; he had conquered the small peak with ease.
As for Jiang Cai'Er, though her chest heaved and her face was flushed, she wasn't exceptionally tired, with only a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. She glanced at Li Xiang and knew instantly that he had been letting her win the whole time.
'But that's nice, too. Brother Xiang spoils me, always thinking of ways to make me happy.' She couldn't help but smile.
The two paid their respects at the Mountain God Temple, each making a wish. Afterward, they strolled around for a bit. When the morning sun was about to break through the clouds, they began to film.
Jiang Cai'Er was in charge of filming, while Li Xiang was responsible for wielding the flag.
It was a Size 3 national flag, 192 centimeters long and 128 centimeters wide—a relatively large flag. The pole was one Li Xiang had hastily fashioned from bamboo the night before. It was a full three meters long, resembling a Long Spear. With a light flick of the pole, Li Xiang sent the crimson flag unfurling into the wind.
An ordinary person could never have made such a large flag unfurl so beautifully.
Li Xiang stood on the summit, facing the rising sun. Using the flagpole as if it were a spear, he performed a set of Body Techniques—or what one might call a Red Flag Dance.
Jiang Cai'Er filmed him, facing the sun and using her own intuitive sense of camerawork.
The red flag snapped in the wind, each movement vast and powerful. Dazzling golden light shone through the fabric. The man holding the flag was tall and well-built, his movements as graceful as a startled swan, as fluid as a swimming dragon. This "Red Flag Dance" was nothing short of divine!